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Sustainable Development Goal #4: Quality Education


  

 

A quote from one of the SDG #4 artists, Arthur Haywood:

"I hope this mural inspires students to dive into the magic of learning and believe in their imagination. This piece is a part of a set of Sustainable Development Goals that practiced in unison will positively influence our future. In collaboration with the mural at Samuel Gompers School, adjacent to campus, I hope this project sparks a focus on education for the next generation."

 

 

           

 

This art project is the fourth out of the 17 SDGs, and has become the second goal to be celebrated in terms of achieving quality education in the campaign at Global Philadelphia Association. There will be two murals going up in Philadelphia to honor and celebrate SDG 4. The artwork is a colorful, elegant interpretation of the goal of supporting quality education in the city of Philadelphia.

Mural #1 : 

  • Sponsor of the project: Saint Joseph’s University
  • Artist(s): Isabella Akhtarshenas and Arthur Haywood
  • Grantee: Gompers Philadelphia School District   

     

 

About Isabella Akhtarshenas :

Isabella Akhtarshenas is a versatile graphic designer and multidisciplinary artist. She strategically uses colors and shapes to create whimsical and lively forms. As an avid houseplant collector, she’s inspired largely by the beauty of nature, and is interested in design for environmental sustainability. 

  • Location of the painting: Drexel Library at Saint Joseph's University & Samuel Gompers Elementary School 
  • Academic Partner: David Steingard (Haub School of Business), Saint Joseph’s University

Mural #2 :

  • Sponsor of the project: Saint Joseph's University
  • Artist(s): Arthur Haywood
  • Grantee(s): Samuel Gompers School and the Philadelphia School District

                                     

 

Check out the news coverage of the SDG #4 Unveiling! : 

About Arthur Haywood : 

Arthur Haywood's work celebrates the wonder of stories. His paintings are seen on murals for the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, Sprocket Mural Festival, his book "The Great Library" and Space and Time Magazine. He exhibits his paintings in New York and Pennsylvania and completes commissions. 

He is focused on captivating science fiction and fantasy stories. Creating murals and illustrations to inspire others and engage youth in reading is his passion. He is focused on making murals for libraries and schools in addition to book covers.

  • Location of the painting: SJU Sciences Building
  • Academic Partner:  David Steingard, and James O'Sullivan

To read more about the unveiling, check out our recent article about the event.

To look at photos from the event, take a look at GPA's Flickr album. 

Education enables upward socioeconomic mobility and is a key to escaping poverty. Over the past decade, major progress was made towards increasing access to education and school enrollment rates at all levels, particularly for girls. Nevertheless, about 260 million children were still out of school in 2018 — nearly one-fifth of the global population in that age group. And more than half of all children and adolescents worldwide are not meeting minimum proficiency standards in reading and mathematics. 

In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, a majority of countries announced the temporary closure of schools, impacting more than 91 percent of students worldwide. By April 2020, close to 1.6 billion children and youth were out of school. And nearly 369 million children who rely on school meals needed to look to other sources for daily nutrition. 

Never before have so many children been out of school at the same time, disrupting learning and upending lives, especially the most vulnerable and marginalized. The global pandemic has far-reaching consequences that may jeopardize hard-won gains made in improving global education.

Source: United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, SDG#4 Quality Education

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